Primary 5 English Quiz - Vocabulary
Name: ______________________ Class: ____________ Date: ______________ Score: _______ / 40
Duration: 45 minutes Total Marks: 40
Instructions:
- Answer ALL 20 questions.
- For multiple-choice questions, circle the letter of the correct option.
- Write your answers clearly in the spaces provided.
- Check your spelling. Marks for each question are shown in brackets.
Section A: Multiple Choice (Questions 1–5) — 5 marks
Question 1.
Read the sentence below. What does the word frugal mean?
"The old hawker was frugal, spending only on what he truly needed."
(A) careless with money (B) careful with money (C) generous with money (D) afraid of spending money [1]
Answer: ____________
Question 2.
Read the sentence below. What does the word concise mean?
"Mei Ling gave a concise answer, using just three words."
(A) long (B) loud (C) brief (D) rude [1]
Answer: ____________
Question 3.
Choose the word that best completes the sentence.
"The principal will ____________ a speech at the prize-giving ceremony."
(A) tell (B) deliver (C) say (D) speak [1]
Answer: ____________
Question 4.
After losing his third match in a row, Jun Jie finally decided to throw in the towel.
What does the idiom throw in the towel mean?
(A) to clean up the court (B) to give up (C) to become angry (D) to celebrate a win [1]
Answer: ____________
Question 5.
Read the sentence below. What does the word meticulous mean?
"Our teacher's meticulous checking found every small error in our essays."
(A) quick (B) careless (C) very careful (D) unfair [1]
Answer: ____________
Section B: Choose and Complete (Questions 6–10) — 10 marks
Question 6.
Circle the word that best completes each sentence.
(a) The audience gave a ____________ round of applause. (thunderous / drizzly / shaky)
(b) The soup tasted so ____________ that Wei Ming asked for a second bowl. (delicious / dreadful / dull) [2]
Question 7.
Complete each sentence with the correct form of the word in brackets.
(a) The magician's final trick left the audience in complete ____________. (amaze)
(b) She spoke ____________ about her plans for the future. (confident) [2]
Question 8.
Circle the word that best completes each collocation.
(a) ____________ rain poured down all afternoon. (Heavy / Tall / Strong)
(b) She gave a ____________ sigh of relief when the results were announced. (deep / high / strong) [2]
Question 9.
Complete each sentence with the correct idiom from the box.
under the weather | once in a blue moon | piece of cake
(a) Amir felt ____________, so he stayed home from school.
(b) Grandpa visits us ____________ because he lives overseas. [2]
Question 10.
Circle the word that best suits formal writing in each sentence.
(a) I would like to ____________ my appointment to Friday. (reschedule / shift around / push back)
(b) The committee ____________ the proposal after careful review. (approved / green-lit / okayed) [2]
Section C: Vocabulary in Context (Questions 11–15) — 10 marks
Read the passage below. Answer Questions 11 to 15 based on the passage.
Every Saturday morning, Ken arrived early to water the plants at the community garden before any other volunteer turned up. At first, the work seemed tedious — the same rows, the same watering can, week after week. Soon, however, he began to notice things that others missed: tiny buds on the chilli plants, earthworms wriggling up after the rain. One night, a fierce storm flattened the young seedlings. Ken reached the garden at dawn and patiently propped each stem upright with sticks. Mrs Tan, the coordinator, praised his diligence and put him in charge of guiding the newer volunteers. Ken beamed with pride. The job he had once dreaded had become the part of his week he treasured most.
Question 11.
The writer says the work seemed tedious at first.
(a) What does tedious mean?
(b) Which words or phrase from the passage helped you work out its meaning? [2]
Question 12.
Mrs Tan praised Ken's diligence. Using evidence from the passage, explain what it means to be diligent. [2]
Question 13.
Complete the table with the correct form of each word. [2]
| Adjective | Noun |
|---|
| confident | (a) ____________ |
| (b) ____________ | patience |
Question 14.
The writer describes how Ken "patiently propped each stem upright".
(a) What does propped mean?
(b) Circle the word closest in meaning to propped: supported / pushed / pulled / planted [2]
Question 15.
At the end of the passage, the job Ken had once dreaded had become the part of his week he treasured most.
(a) What does dreaded mean?
(b) What does treasured mean?
(c) Are these two words similar or opposite in meaning? [2]
Section D: Apply and Write (Questions 16–20) — 15 marks
Question 16.
Write one sentence of your own for each word below. Make sure the meaning of the word is clear in your sentence.
(a) generous
(b) anxious
(c) brief [3]
Question 17.
Replace the underlined word in each sentence with a more precise word from the box.
exhausted | delighted | furious
(a) The runner was <u>very tired</u> after the race.
(b) Sara was <u>very happy</u> to win the art prize.
(c) Father was <u>very angry</u> when the vase broke. [3]
Question 18.
Complete the paragraph with suitable words from the box.
courage | rescue | grateful
During the flood, the firefighters showed great ____________ as they worked to ____________ families trapped in their homes. The residents were deeply ____________ to them. [3]
Question 19.
Match each idiom to its correct meaning. Write the letter (A), (B) or (C) next to each idiom.
Meanings: (A) very expensive (B) to reveal a secret (C) to be exactly right
(a) cost an arm and a leg ________
(b) spill the beans ________
(c) hit the nail on the head ________ [3]
Question 20.
Read the sentence below.
"The new student, Priya, was apprehensive on her first day."
(a) What does apprehensive mean?
(b) Which clue in the sentence helped you work out its meaning?
(c) Write one synonym for apprehensive. [3]
— End of Quiz —